Past the Point Of No Return
by LiveLaughLoveReadForever
Summary: What should have happened onstage between Christine and Erik.


Stepping forwards, I allowed myself to forget about the awful situation I was truly in and just concentrate on his voice. My eyes flickered closed and I let myself just concentrate on the beautiful voice that was surrounding me. The voice that belongs to a man that I once loved.

Once? a small voice said in the back of my mind, You still do!

My eyes flickered open at the strange thought. I couldn't still love him, could I? He had murdered people! For a moment, I forgot where I was and allowed myself to get immersed in my mental musings. I heard someone let out a sob from the audience and I was snapped back to the present. Erik's voice was so beautiful and so passionate that caused people to cry in the audience. I could see why they would feel that way. I remember the first I heard him sing. I probably would have started crying, if I hadn't already been. I was just six years old, my father had just died, and I was all alone in this big, beautiful Opera House.

I glanced over at Erik- the lights from the new chandelier made his white mask seem like it was glowing and my breath caught in my throat. The emotion that gripping my heart was familiar, but stronger that I had ever felt. It was feeling I couldn't get enough of. Despite the fact that I always felt it when I was around Erik I had yet to be able to identify the emotion.

Suddenly the music changed and Erik begun singing a different song. It was heartbreakingly familiar sounding. It was the song I had sang with Raoul on the rooftop. I was silent for a moment as I listened to what he was saying.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude."

My heart was in my throat as I felt tears about to fall out of my eyes. The poor sadness in his voice was nearly overwhelming and I had no other desire but to take every bit of that sadness away from him. He didn't deserve to be sad! He's the most amazing person I've ever met. He's the one that, when I was ten years old, and a creepy Opera audience member had started to trying to have me Erik scared him off. I hadn't realized it was him though. He's my best friend! The only person who has ever truly cared for me when no one else did. The one that was there to dry my tears when I was crying.

He's the man I love.

A gasp escaped my lips as I realized that those words were true.

"Say you'll want me with you here beside you."

Erik began advancing towards me. Hope shining in his mismatched eyes. And I felt my feet moving so that we were walking towards each other.

We were close enough to each other that I could see every color of his mismatched eyes when I looked up at him. "Anywhere you go let me go too. Christine, that's all I ask of-," I couldn't help it. We were so close to each other and if this helped take away some of his sadness...

I stepped forward and without a second thought kissed him-right there onstage. The moment our lips touched the entire world around me faded away- the audience watching, the gun that was obviously trained on Erik, Raoul- and all I thought of was how much I truly love this man and how amazing it felt to be kissing him.

At first he was unresponsive other than scooting closer to be. I felt his shaking arms start to rap around my back before the fell away. The I felt him attempting to place his hands on my back, but those fell away too. He was shaking nearly violently, but he didn't seem to care. His hands had someone found their way to my face and they held it in place for a moment before he stroked my cheek and moved his hands away.

I felt something moist fall against my cheek and worriedly pulled back. Tears were shining in Erik's eyes and he looked like he was going to pull me back to him, but he didn't.

"Erik," I said as I forgot about the audience watching, "I love you."

Erik froze at the words and turned back towards me for a moment before he began crying even harder. "Oh, Christine, you don't know how longer I've waited to hear those words. But I never thought I would be blessed enough to hear them. I love you so much, Christine."

I stepped closer to him, ready to catch him an embrace before something strange happened. Someone in the audience had begun...clapping? Soon he had gotten everyone to begin clapping. I glanced out at the audience confused before I realized that they thought this was the play. I glanced at Erik's sobbing form and stepped forward. I grabbed his hand and together we exited stage left.

"Erik," I said once we were in the dark backstage, "I love you so much."

I said gathering him up into my arms. He rested his chin on my head and smiled at the small gesture.

"What...what...what about your viscount?" he asked suddenly pulling back. I winced. I had forgotten about Raoul. He had seen the entire exchange from the audience, but unlike the audience he would have known that it wasn't part of the Opera.

"I don't love him," I said almost immediately and I hated myself for not even thinking if over, but I knew it was true. "I mean, I do love him-but like a brother. I don't love him like I love you."

Erik still looked doubtful so I pulled him closer to me and was about to kiss him again when I realized how awkward it was to be only be halfway kissing him and halfway kissing the white porcelain of his mask. I raised my hands slowly to show him that I was, in fact, removing his mask. He tensed at started to move away, but the he seemed to accept what I was doing with a heavy heart as his body drooped as I took off his mask.

His face wasn't nearly as hideous when it was contorted in rage. And as I looked I realized that I didn't mind- I loved his face, in fact! Not because it was beautiful or anything, but because I love the man it belongs to.

My hand reached out and carefully stroked his deformed side of his face. "Erik, I love you." Tears became falling down his face, wetting my hand. I wiped them away with care.

"I love you so much, Christine. You don't even know how much I love you," murmured Erik, standing up and pressing his lips to my forehead.

I smiled up at him and grabbed his hand. I heard a loud bang from the area of the audience.

"We must leave, Erik," I said glancing backwards, "They want to kill you."

Erik smiled calmly and grabbed my hand. "Let's go home."

And together we left the shouts of the audience and angry managers and went into our new lives together. 


End file.
